The Blanda () is a river in

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

which flows northwards from the northwest side of the

Hofsjökull __NOTOC__ Hofsjökull ( Icelandic: "temple glacier", ) is the third largest ice cap in Iceland after Vatnajökull and Langjökull and the largest active volcano in the country. It is situated in the west of the Highlands of Iceland and north o ...

glacier into

Húnaflói Húnaflói (, "Huna Bay") is a large bay between Strandir and Skagaströnd in Iceland. It is about wide and long. The towns Blönduós and Skagaströnd are located on the bay's eastern side. Fauna The bay has been proposed as a protecte ...

bay at

Blönduós Blönduós () is a town and former municipality in the north of Iceland with a population of 895 in 2018. Like many towns and villages around Iceland, Blönduós did not emerge as a village until the late 19th century. The town is situated on Ro ...

. The Blanda is one of the longest rivers in the country, with a length of about 125 km, and has a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

estimated at 2370 km². Its source is calculated to lie at a height of 800m. The river is one of the main

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

rivers in Iceland and has often yielded a catch of almost 3000 salmon in one summer. Before the river was dammed in 1990, the salmon spawning grounds reached almost to the foot of the glacier. Blanda

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power station uses the drop of the river to generate up to 150 MW of power.

Gallery

Image:Mouth of Blanda river.jpg, Mouth of Blanda river emptying into Húnaflói, November 2007 Image:Blanda river.jpg, Blanda river flowing through Blönduós Image:Blanda river, flowing beneath Langadalsfjall.jpg, Blanda river, flowing beneath Langadalsfjall

References

Rivers of Iceland {{Iceland-river-stub